Wall Coverings Report- shelley warne

In the first week of researching wall coverings I was immediately attracted to the floral patterns. I am a huge fan of sixties and seventies wallpaper, I love the bright colours and bold prints. I had decided to design my own floral wall coverings. When looking through my research I had noticed that I had unintentionally collected textured and three dimensional wall coverings and wallpapers that gave the appearance of these qualities. “Nonna Pepa” is a rug made from crocheted bright colour flowers this piece really inspired me to create a wall hanging rather than wallpaper. I then saw a knitted fruit bowl which made me come to the decision of knitting the wall hanging. I really liked “flower wallpaper”. The Swedish designers are inspired by other dimensions rather than graphics, their wallpaper is made from plastic flowers that are attached to the wall making it three-dimensional wallpaper. I really liked the idea of having real flowers in my wall coverings, and decided to combine the knitted wall hangings will flowers.
My visit to Temple Newsam was very insightful in finding out the history of wall coverings.
One aspect of wall coverings previously unknown to me before my visit is that wallpaper was attached to the wall by nailing it to wooden panels at the top and bottom and animals insides were used as glue. Borders were made to hide the nails.
Also, in the fourteenth century wooden blocks were calved into and were used to print. Religious wallpapers were very popular and found in most households.
Furthermore, between the sixteenth and seventeenth century prints became much cheaper. Lining paper was used in the early seventeenth century and small blocks of paper were made from this. By the late seventeenth and eighteenth century they started putting small blocks of paper together to make long rolls of wallpaper.
England was the first to make flock wallpaper. Flock was used to imitate velvet, and because it is made from silk flock was the cheaper solution. Flock was priced at just four shillings opposed to twenty-five for velvet. The silk wall coverings were reversible because the patterns were weaved meaning it could be put on the wall on any side.
Textile and wallpaper designs were very strong and regularly, liked to copy fabrics. Grey and white were used to create the appearance of silver thread which in turn produced an image of greater expense. Crewed (wool) wallpaper was very costly because it was highly time consuming and labour costs added to expense, therefore the whole room would not be covered with it.
In 1830 roller printed textiles created, and in 1851 the Great Exhibition of Kensington was launched. The exhibition was the first international exhibition for manufactured products and was helpful with the development of art and design education. The exhibition led to inventions such as the eight colour printing machine which was completed in 1864. However, these new inventions led to a drop in the quality of wallpaper due to the fact that it did not give the same quality and detail as the wooden blocks which were printed by hand. In 1880 William Morris amongst other designers started to recreate the quality in wallpaper rather than using the new found techniques and inventions. This in turn led to the arts and crafts fair being held as a rebellion against industrialisation.
Whilst looking round at Temple Newsam one wallpaper stood out from the rest for me. It had tree branches on and flowers. The lady who had owned the house had then cut out and layered on bird drawings, which in my opinion makes it very personal and unique. These are qualities I have tried to incorporate within my work. Temple Newsam influenced me to use flock on my wall covers. There was a white hat that I saw when visiting and it had white embroidery on it, it made me just want to touch it and feel the textures. This again is a quality I have tried to re-create within my wall coverings. I want the viewer to wonder if it is textured or three dimensional, so much in fact that they will reach out to feel them.
Once back in the studio I started knitting different fabrics to see which would look best for my wall covering and which would hold flowers in them. Louise Body has designed a wallpaper which is of strips of lace, I like how it gives the illusion of real pieces of lace rather than just an image. I then started to knit lace, I photocopied and enlarged them. The images had such texture that I thought that they would look great as wallpapers. They would give the appearance of fabric but would be paper. I started to draw and paint from the photocopies and experiment with scale. The drawings stopped looking like lace and started to have an animal appearance. I liked them however I did not want to push these further as I preferred the original images.
I then made a screen of a close up photocopy of my knitted lace. I wanted to enhance the texture in the picture by taking them further by using flock. I experimented with colours. My favourite outcomes were the ones that had the same colour flock to the background on which it was set. These pieces are very subtle, I think they produce the outcome I am searching for. They remind me of old wallpapers.
I then experimented more with the knitting design and I tried different colours and fabrics. I preferred my knitted samples to be white as I did not want the colour of them to drown out the flowers once I had added them I wanted them to harmonize with each other. I then looked at Susie MacMurray’s work. Her ‘ivory square’ had a resemblance to the knitted samples I had done previously, because I had been playing around with laces and they were not finished solutions i just saw it as a coincidence that they were similar.
I purchased some plastic washing line and some fake flowers. I knitted the washing line and was really happy with the results. Its scale changes depending on how much you stretch it, this gives it many different qualities the patterns in the knit look completely different. I added the fake flowers, I think because the washing line is plastic and the flowers are also, therefore they complement one another. I then looked at Anya Gallaccio’s ‘preserve ‘beauty’ ‘1991-2003 which were made from 2,000 red gerberas amongst glass and fixings. This gave me the idea to use real flowers and make this outcome have a more organic feel and look compared to the plastic piece. I dried red roses, and knitted string. Instantly this had I completely different style. I attached the roses on with thread and weaved the thread through the knit to give it an added effect.
Once I had finished the knitted outcomes I then decided to draw them, I liked how Susie MacMurray had drawn hair nets and she had used them in her work.
I did not feel like I had truly finished with my screen prints. I liked them but I wanted to see if I could improve them. I had made small samples as well as the A3 pieces. With the small samples I cut out shapes, layered and machine stitched. This gave me the opportunity to see if they looked good enough to use the same techniques on the A3. I liked them on the small samples and decided to try them on the larger scale. The paper prints I decided to keep as they were as I felt they would be ruined if I did too much to them. The fabric ones were the ones I felt could be improved even thought they were the same print they had a different quality on fabric. Once I had sewn on them I feel they had improved. James Bullen designs photographic wallpapers that give the illusion that they are three dimensional which gave me the idea to scan them in and printed them off. I wanted the stitching to look real rather than just a print off. However, unfortunately they did not work as well as I had hoped. I experimented on the computer as a different technique as I felt I had not worked with enough with paper. However I prefer my other outcomes.
Once I had completed my knitted coverings I decided to have them photographed down at photography. The photographs really captured the detail and the shadows created new patterns. I wanted to print them onto fireproof paper as its slightly textured. Unfortunately the printer had broken and I was forced to use matt paper. The prints look really good and are a substitute to the original pieces.
I have been inspired by many artists that have different styles and by combining the techniques I like I have created a wide range of outcomes. I have made wallpapers and wall hangings I have given alternatives to suit personal taste. I wanted to create texture and detail in my work and I feel I have captured this well. I feel my outcomes are unique and original.